Isley Brothers Greatest Hits [Remaster]

Performer: The Isley Brothers
Engineer: Malcolm Cecil; Robert Margouleff
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The Isley Brothers: Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley (vocals); Ernie Isley (guitar); Chris Jasper (keyboards); Marvin Isley (bass). Producers: The Isley Brothers. Compilation producer: Leo Sacks. Includes liner notes by Tom Vickers. Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). Personnel: Chris Jasper (vocals, grand piano, electric piano, Clavinet, synthesizer, congas, tambourine, percussion, background vocals); Ronald Isley (vocals, background vocals); Ernie Isley (guitar, acoustic 12-string guitar, electric guitar, drums, congas, maracas, timbales, percussion, background vocals); Marvin Isley (cowbells, wood block, percussion, background vocals); Malcolm Cecil, Robert Margouleff (programming); O'Kelly Isley, Rudolph Isley (background vocals). Recording information: A&R Studios, New York, NY; Bearsville Sound Studios, Bearsville, NY; E.A.R.S., East Orange, NJ; Kendun Recorders, Burbank, CA; Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA. Arrangers: Chris Jasper; Ernie Isley; Marvin Isley; O'Kelly Isley; Ronald Isley; Rudolph Isley. While probably best suited for the casual listener, this Isley Brothers collection still contains a potent mix of the band's biggest hits from the `70s and `80s. Showing the group's flexibility, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 includes quiet storm funk ballads like "For the Love of You," the proto-new jack swing of "Between the Sheets," and soul anthems like "Fight the Power" and "Live It Up." The group's signature songs are here too, including early-`70s chart toppers like the Stax-inspired "It's Your Thing" and the stratospheric pop-funk cut "That Lady"; the latter features Ernie Isley on one of the most incredible funk guitar solos on wax (the Hendrix elements being almost a given since the guitar great cut his teeth in the Isleys' mid-`60s touring band). And there's more urbane, smooth-groove tunes like "Footsteps in the Dark" and "Groove With You" to top things off. A good collection for curious soul and funk fans. Listeners looking for a more thorough selection of Isley hits, though, should check out Rhino's two-volume The Isley Brothers Story; while the first disc covers early smashes from the late `50s and `60s like "Shout," "Twist and Shout," and the Motown hit "This Old Heart of Mine," the second includes all the cuts on this collection, plus several more prime tracks the band made while on the T-Neck label.The 2002 Epic/Legacy CD reissue adds five tracks, four of them #1 R&B hits from 1977-1980, the other Isley Jasper Isley's 1985 #1 R&B hit "Caravan of Love." ~ Stephen Cook While probably best suited for the casual listener, this Isley Brothers collection still contains a potent mix of the band's biggest hits from the `70s and `80s. Showing the group's flexibility, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 includes quiet storm funk ballads like "For the Love of You," the proto-new jack swing of "Between the Sheets," and soul anthems like "Fight the Power" and "Live It Up." The group's signature songs are here too, including early-`70s chart-toppers like the Stax-inspired "It's Your Thing" and the stratospheric pop-funk cut "That Lady"; the latter features Ernie Isley on one of the most incredible funk guitar solos on wax (the Hendrix elements being almost a given since the guitar great cut his teeth in the Isleys' mid-`60s touring band). And there are more urbane smooth-groove tunes like "Footsteps in the Dark" and "Groove with You" to top things off. Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 is a good collection for curious soul and funk fans. Listeners looking for a more thorough selection of Isley hits, though, should check out Rhino's two-volume The Isley Brothers Story; while the first disc covers early smashes from the late `50s and `60s like "Shout," "Twist and Shout," and the Motown hit "This Old Heart of Mine," the second includes all the cuts on this collection, plus several more prime tracks the band made while on the T-Neck label. [The 2002 Epic/Legacy CD reissue adds five tracks, four of them number one R&B hits from 1977-1980, the other Isley/Jasper/Isley's 1985 number one R&B hit "Caravan of Love."] ~ Stephen Cook

A semi-successful Motown vocal group in the early '60s, The Isley Brothers' historical importance would be assured if only for their original version of "Twist and Shout," and the fact that they provided Jimi Hendrix with one of his first big breaks. The Isleys surpassed their original success, however, with an innovative blend of soul and psychedelic rock that provided them with huge album sales throughout the '70s. By the time the '80s rolled around, they had reinvented themselves yet again, this time as sensual, Quiet Storm-style contemporary R&B balladeers.

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